Did you know?...the HISTORY of Duck Duck Goose.

As I write my first blog, I reminisce and want to offer everyone a glimpse of how Duck Duck Goose began 16 years ago.    As a stay at home, aren’t we always looking for a way to earn extra cash and find something that makes us feel productive?  I found myself always trying to think of a creative new idea that would be a win-win situation for both my self as a stay at home mom and for the customer of my business.  I always felt that if I could find that “win-win” combination, it would be a successful idea.  My husband and I would often “dream” and “brainstorm” together tons of ideas of how I could start something new that would be fun, yet bring in some “mad” money in our budget. 

Now, I will admit that I have always loved going to yard sales and looking for bargains on cute children’s clothing but it was rare to find a yard sale that had a lot of great children’s clothing.  When I did find one, after weeks of going from sale to sale with no luck, burning precious gas, not to mention time invested as well, the sale would not have the size or sex of clothing that I needed.  If I found a sale with cute clothes in the sex I needed, I would purchase years ahead in size just to get the quality, brands, and styles I wanted my children to have.  I just did not have money to run to the mall or children’s boutiques and I am sure that are many of you that can relate to that. I would go home so excited to show off my rare finds and bargains!

After many fun and meaningful braining storming sessions with my husband on business ideas, I have to give credit where credit is due.  My sister-in-law in Jackson, Tennessee gets the credit.  Paula told me about a sale where women brought their children’s items together and sold them on a consignment basis that was taking place in her town.  My first thought was a greedy one!  I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it great if everyone brought me their children’s clothing and I got to pick first from the items?  No more running from yard sale to yard sale, people would bring their best items to my house!  The thought of that shopping pleasure enticed me to do something that literally scared me to death. I decided to start my own business introduce that concept to Little Rock Moms!  (I capitalize Moms because Moms are a THE MOST IMPORTANT people group!)

 I put together a brochure and made copies at Office Depot. I started the event with six consignors in my West Little Rock garage and it has now grown to a limited 1,500 mothers consigning their children's gently used clothing.  Just as we still do today, I took my brochure to area daycares and asked if they would help me get the word out to young moms.  For the first few seasons, the response was very interesting and almost like a death threat to my idea.  The daycare workers would ask me, “You’re going to do what?  Explain this to me again?”  It was such a different and strange concept for people to understand the three day consignment event idea that it made me doubtful of myself. I would shake inside as I tried to explain what I was promoting.  My first Duck Duck Goose Sale began with six consignors in my West Little Rock garage and I made $100.  The important part about this is that I didn’t quit.  $100 was enough money to entice me to try it again the next season.  The Lord blessed these years in spite of many long days of intense work and doubt, and now sixteen years later, Duck Duck Goose is still going strong!  I can honestly say that I love what I do!  It is as much a ministry as a job.