A Day in the Life of A Modern American Small Business -- Smak Parlour, Philadelphia, PA

Think fast—I say Philadelphia, you say:  cheese steak or Liberty Bell.  Or maybe pretzel or Eagles; Ben Franklin or Betsey Ross; US Mint or Franklin Institute. 

I hope that after you read today’s A Day in the Life post, you will add Smak Parlour to your Philly list.

Imagine working alongside your best friend in a chic pink boutique store – in your own small business partnership.  Katie Loftus and Abby Kessler have the best jobs ever, are happy to go to work every day, and get to dress in the clothes that they design and sell in their boutique store. 

Here’s how they describe a typical day in the life of a Smak Parlour owner:

Get to work @11am (most days), leave 7pm (most days).

The job greatly varies from day to day. There are a lot of hats to wear! Just to name a few: servicing customers, pricing, steaming and putting out new merchandise. Placing orders with vendors. designing the windows, merchandising the floor. Cleaning and organizing. Taking pictures of items for web and cleaning them up in a graphics program. Updating website, sending out orders, blogging, twittering, fbooking. Ordering new merch, office supplies (business cards, bags). Paying bills. Scheduling, mentoring and evaluating interns.

Katie and Abby describe the best part of their day -- working with their best friend.  Accounting and quickbooks fall into the least favorite category.

Here’s how Katie and Abby (SP for Smak Parlour) answered a few more of my questions (HBG for Helitzerblousegirl):

HBG:  Do you have a good boss?  Are you a good boss?

SP:  We like to think we’re good bosses. We treat our employees and interns very well (the way we’d like to be treated).

HBG:  Do you feel that you are a typical American worker?  (For instance, I’m a partner in a law firm and I do what most lawyers do – read, read, read).

SP:  We suppose we do similar tasks as other boutique owners

HBG:  Has your job required you to do something unusual (see my blogpost about climbing down into a manhole to see a steam pipe system).

SP:  Haha that’s crazyJ

HBG:  Do you feel that you contribute to making our world a better place to live?

SP:  Yes, we make fashion fun! 

HBG:  Thanks Smak Parlour for participating in the A Day in the Life series and providing my blog audience with a look at a vibrant and successful American small business.

http://www.smakparlour.com/