L ET TE R F R O M TH E E DI TO R
Fa m i l y B u s in e ss
“I
just made my 12th sale!” I excitedly told my grandmother over the phone. I opened a Poshmark account – think eBay’s more fashion-focused cousin – this past summer to resell my clothing and give it a second life. Someone in Michigan had purchased a pair of dress pants I’d worn barely 10 times, so I raced to the post office during my lunch break. I knew Nana would appreciate my retail victories because for years she co-owned a boutique in Occoquan, Virginia, called The Gazebo. I sometimes counted the change in the drawer and rearranged the jewelry in the glass cases after school. She took biannual buying trips, and once, when her business partner couldn’t make it, I got to see her in action at the Javits Center in New York City. “I always looked for something different,” she told me. “I couldn’t compete with the big department stores, so I bought unique things for my shop.” Long retired, Nana now passes on her best practices to me: “The customer is more likely to jump at $19, rather than $20.” I could also learn a thing or two from fellow Poshmark seller Krish Gandhi, a sophomore at Chapel Hill High School. While I resell items already in my closet, Krish finds, purchases and cleans up in-demand sneakers, and he’s amassed a large following on a multitude of selling sites. Krish, too, has an enterprising role model in the family. “Throughout my childhood, I’ve always seen my mom work hard in her business, and I guess I’ve just taken that same kind of motivation and hard work that she does and put it into mine,” Krish says. His mom, Deepika Gandhi, is the co-founder of several successful startups and (in a happy, unintended coincidence) is also featured in this issue. Read more about Krish, Deepika and six others’ entrepreneurial journeys on page 54 – perhaps you’ll find inspiration for your own creative venture! CHM
jessica@chapelhillmagazine.com TH E COV E R P h o to by J o h n Mi c h a e l S i m p s o n 6
chapelhillmagazine.com
March/April 2022