Four Years of Vintage Works: What I've Learned, What I Would Do Differ

Four Years of Vintage Works: What I’ve Learned, What I Would Do Differently, and What’s Next

This September marks four years since Vintage Works became my full-time job.

Four years.

Sometimes it feels like I only just started, and sometimes it feels like I have lived several different working lives since then.

When I look back at where I was when I started, and where Vintage Works is today, I realise just how much has happened in those four years, and how much I have learned along the way.

So, instead of simply celebrating the anniversary, I thought I would take a moment to look back.

What came before Vintage Works, what I've learned, what I would do differently, what I'm proud of, and what I hope comes next.

Before Vintage Works

Vintage Works wasn’t actually where the story began. For about two years before I went full-time, I ran a small vintage business called Vinden Shop on the side, while still working in a government position. Back then, I had a completely different job, a completely different routine, and a very different idea of what running a business meant.

Vinden Shop was small, but it marked the beginning of something. I was sourcing pieces, photographing them, writing descriptions, packing orders, and figuring out how to sell vintage online, all while working another job.

Looking back, those two years were incredibly valuable. They gave me the chance to learn by doing, without having to rely on the business as my only income.

Vinden Shop sold vintage tableware, ceramics, art, textiles, table lamps, candleholders and other decorative pieces.

The reality of running a small business

There is a romantic side to running a vintage business.

There is the sourcing. The thrill of finding something special. The beautiful old frames, the colors, the textures, the stories behind the pieces.

And then there is everything else. VAT. Customs. Shipping. Bookkeeping. Websites. Advertising. Packaging. Invoices. Returns. Suppliers. Things breaking at exactly the wrong moment. And emails that can make you question your entire existence before your first coffee.

I've learned that running a small business is rarely about doing one big thing. It is about dealing with hundreds of small things, every single week. Some are exciting. Some are incredibly boring. Some are completely unexpected. And some require you to spend an entire afternoon figuring out something you didn't even know existed that morning.

“Keep going, even when you question what you’re doing.”

The Numbers

When I started, I was probably a little naive. I had a very simple idea: if I could find beautiful things, photograph them well and put them in a nice shop, surely the rest would follow. I didn't have a proper budget. I didn't have a business plan or a marketing plan. And if I had done all the calculations beforehand, I might have realised that starting a vintage business was not exactly the most obvious financial investment. I'm actually quite grateful that I didn't know that. Sometimes a little naivety is exactly what you need to get started.

When I left my previous job, I gave myself one year to test Vintage Works without taking a salary from the company. In reality, it took almost two years before I was able to pay myself anything. Today, I have a steady salary from Vintage Works, and it has gradually increased over time. It's still nowhere near what I earned in some of my previous positions, but it is a salary from a business that I built myself, and that feels pretty significant.

My relationship with the numbers has also changed quite a lot. In the beginning, I was mostly looking at revenue. Was this month better than the last? Could I sell more? Today, revenue is still an important number, but it's certainly not the only one I care about. I'm much more interested in profitability and in understanding what is actually left after all the costs of running the business. I'm also less interested in having one spectacular month followed by a quiet one. I'd much rather have a steady flow of orders throughout the year. Vintage Works has definitely not been an overnight success. Revenue has more than doubled year after year, which I'm incredibly proud of, but I've learned that growth isn't the whole story.

I've learned to trust my eye

One of the things I am happiest about is that Vintage Works has become increasingly clear to me.

When I started, I think I was more concerned with what might sell. Now I ask myself a much simpler question: Would I want this in my own home?

That has become the guiding principle behind Vintage Works. I don't want to have a huge shop just for the sake of having a huge shop. I want to find things that make me stop. Something about the color, the brushwork, the frame, the texture, the shape or simply the feeling of a piece. And if I wouldn't happily live with it myself, I don't buy it.

That doesn't mean everything is to everyone's taste. Quite the opposite. I think the personality of Vintage Works comes from having a point of view.

“Vintage Works isn’t for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine. We’re drawn to pieces with character, history and a point of view. Not everyone will understand them, and that’s perfectly fine.”

Everything is a process

This might be the most useful thing I've learned. Everything is a process.

I remind myself of this a lot. A shipment gets stuck. A courier sends the wrong invoice. A customer doesn't pay on time. Something goes wrong with the website. An order gets lost. An advertising campaign doesn't work. Something that should take ten minutes somehow takes three hours. My first reaction is often still frustration. But I've become much better at reminding myself that whatever has happened, there is probably a process for sorting it out. Find out what happened. Work out what needs to happen next. Deal with it.

Move on.

It sounds simple, but it has made running a business considerably less stressful. Not because things go wrong less often. But because I don't see every problem as a catastrophe anymore.

What I would do differently

There are plenty of things I would do differently if I were starting Vintage Works today.

I would pay much more attention to the numbers from the beginning. I would build my email list earlier. I would worry less about what other businesses were doing. I would trust my own taste sooner.

And I would probably spend less time trying to get everything perfect before moving on. Because there is always something else to improve. The website can be better. The photographs can be better. The ads can be better. The packaging can be better.

There is always another thing on the list. I've learned that sometimes "good enough for now" is much more useful than waiting for perfect.

What I'm proud of

I’m proud that Vintage Works has grown from a little side project into a business that supports me full time. What started with a love of finding beautiful old things has grown into something that people all over the world are now part of. I love knowing that pieces I’ve found in Sweden are now living in homes far beyond Sweden, and that some customers have filled much of their homes with pieces from Vintage Works. I’ve built this myself, around something I genuinely love, and I’m very proud of that.

I’m also proud of how much I’ve grown along the way. Running a small business can sometimes feel like one step forward and two steps back, and there have certainly been plenty of setbacks. But somewhere along the way, I’ve learned how to deal with them, find solutions and keep going. Not just in business, but in life too.

Four years in, I think I appreciate the everyday more. The small wins, a good sourcing day, a painting I’m excited about, a customer who loves their new piece. Building Vintage Works has taught me a lot about business, but maybe even more about myself.

"Running a small business often feels like taking one step forward and two steps back."

Four years in

Four years ago, I didn't know exactly where Vintage Works would take me. I still don't know exactly where it will go next. And I think I'm finally comfortable with that. Because building a business isn't really about knowing exactly where you'll end up.

It's about making a decision, seeing what happens, learning from it and making the next decision. Over and over again. Everything is a process. And four years in, I'm still very much enjoying the process.

Thank you for following along, buying pieces, opening my emails, replying to my stories, visiting the studio and generally being part of Vintage Works.

There is a lot more to come.

And I can't wait to see what the next chapter looks like.

Warmly,

Heidi

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