Positivity, ingenuity the ‘real deal’ in persevering

I respect business owners.

I’m talking serious respect.

The deep-seeded admiration comes from having been raised on a farm – a perfect example of a small business. I recall the tough days and even tougher years. Operating a family farm that grows corn and soybeans and sells cattle and pigs comes with few guarantees. You don’t always harvest what you plant or get a fair price for the livestock you send to market. Weather is fickle. Costs always seem to increase while market prices don’t.

Yet we managed, thanks to faith, hard work, determination, grit and a little bit of luck.

Lindsey Foss is a positive, creative, tenacious and driven business owner who lives in Polk City with her husband Jared and children Maddox and Rory. Her story is unique and inspirational.

I got to know Lindsey when we worked together at the Iowa Soybean Association. I’ll always remember the spring day in 2018 when, out of the blue, she shared the news with the soybean family that she was opening a home décor and boutique called Real Deals Ankeny (ankeny@realdeals.net).

It was about the last thing I expected to hear that day but from the moment she made the announcement, it was a given she would succeed.

Know Lindsey for a minute and you realize a minute later that success is the only option. Of course, tell Lindsey that and she’ll immediately reply, with the self-deprecating humor as only she can, “Hey, my motto is ‘fake it ‘til you make it!”

On July 18, Lindsey and Real Deals Ankeny (open weekly Thursday-Saturday) will celebrate its two-year anniversary. And that’s saying something, given the choppy waters rocking the retail world. Pandemics and the fear and uncertainty they create aren’t the ideal recipe for small business to get established. Yet Lindsey forges ahead – and succeeds – guided by her faith and driven by a passion for serving her growing fan club of satisfied customers.

Lindsey recently took time from sorting and displaying new inventory to share her approach to life, family and business.

What’s your niche and passion with Real Deals? Home décor and women’s clothing. We pride ourselves in offering a new experience every time customers step through the doors. I have a passion for decorating and the clothing has been fun, too. Everything we do is done on positive vibes. I also don’t believe home décor and attire should be expensive. I want people to keep updated and current without having to spend a fortune

Why retail? I like to say I have a degree in HGTV! I’ve always enjoyed following home décor bloggers and trends and was searching for something that would combine my passion and a career. I didn’t know that opportunity existed until I discovered Real Deals as a customer. The products and the customer style really appealed to me as did the business model of being open just three day a week and how that could fit with a growing family. Having that flexibility to have more time with kiddos is important.

Your reaction when the pandemic struck? It was a fight or flight situation. I experienced the seven stages of grief. There was shock. Numbness. Disbelief of what was going on. The I quickly came to the realization that when you can’t control what’s happening, you can control the way you respond.

How did you respond? At a time when there felt like there was so much out of control, I went with my gut and did things that were unconventional as a business owner. The first was going with a Facebook Live message direct to my customers where I talked about my faith. It’s my identify and it felt comfortable as it’s also the core of Real Deals. We did things like leading our virtual sales events Saturdays with prayer and donating masks to health care front line workers throughout the community. These were things we felt we could control and then left the rest up to the big man upstairs. And we continue to adapt, like having closed fitting rooms and other subtle changes like leaving a lamp on in the restroom and propping open doors to ensure the customer’s shopping experience is low-touch but as normal and enjoyable as possible.

Was there a quote or scripture verse that spoke to you? “In this life, we’re all just walking up a mountain; we can either sing as we climb or complain about our sore feet.” Jared and I fell back on this often. After all and either way, you have to walk the hike and we thought that singing felt like a lot more fun.

What drives you? My Faith and upbringing. You learn a lot being raised on a farm. Work ethic was instilled in us at an early age. Mom and dad demonstrated by their actions that you don’t stop until a job is done. I know that’s true for my friends along the way, too.

How else has a farm background benefited you? You learn quick as a farmer and business owner that there are many things beyond your control. You also have to have an entrepreneurial spirit and like to work.

What’s your advice to other entrepreneurs? It’s natural to want to conquer the entire mountain right now. You always want a solution and right away. The hardest thing for me is to remember that you have to take things one step at a time. You’ll never figure it out all at once. The pandemic has been a good learning experience for me. It’s reminded me daily that I don’t have to worry about the peak. Instead, just focus on the next step directly in front of you. Don’t let the unknown paralyze you. All you can do is move forward inch by inch and whatever comes later happens. We’re not at the top of the mountain but we continue to make the climb.

Name something good that’s happened because of the pandemic? Moving into online sales was something we knew we would need to do eventually; we just thought we’d have more time. But if not for COVID-19, we still wouldn’t be there. Now, we would not have hopped off the highest diving board without a swimming lesson. But the pandemic closed our doors and made us dive in. It was the catalyst we needed.

What’s the next test? How do online sales continue to happen while maintaining normal store operations? We resumed in-store sales May 28. So maintaining that customer base and the experience that comes with a live shopping event; I knew that online sales could be really good for business but the unknown now is what will foot traffic look like over the coming weeks, months? Or does it all balance itself it.

What’s tugged at your heart during this crazy time? The support and encouragement of our customers. They have sustained us. They’ve been our saving grace. Despite the odds, we’ve added 400 Facebook fans and 100 customers to our fan club each week while our doors were closed.

Have you seen changes in what people are buying? Pre-COVID, clothes moved 2.5-times faster than home décor. But it dawned on me very quickly that we needed to change and focus more on home décor instead of clothes as people sat around and looked at their home and realized places that needed updating. Home decor now trumps clothes 6:1. We’ll see how that looks as we begin to transition to some kind of new normal.

Where do you draw inspiration? From our customers. The best compliment a customer can give us is when they send a photo of how they incorporated home décor or how an outfit looks – pictures of spaces or product. Our customers are continually inspiring and motivating.

Your advice to new entrepreneurs? Not every day is good, but there is good in every day. Reflect on the good things that happen each day and remember that my woes and disappointments are small compared to the challenges others face. Stay focused on the good of the day or the week – it’s a mindset thing. It’s what I come back to each day when I’m counting my blessings.