Kiosk or Storefront?

Let me catch you up on my journey.My husband and I buy and rehab mobile homes in a University town to sell for profit. I love doing it and it fills a creative spot I require to function properly. We have two more to do (at least). One we bought that is not that bad structurally but had a hoarder in it and we have to deal with what that can do to a property (ever watch the show hoarders then you know). The other one we currently live in and I am crowded.
So I found this Victorian home in my hometown for cheap through a website. Set up an appointment and went and looked at it, it needed a little work but we could move in right away. I saw it fell in love only to be told that it was coming off the market in 2 days and going to be put on an auction site. I didn’t get it it was sold basically before it was officially auctioned on the site. My husband’s friend that lives in another state comes in and tells us about another one in my hometown (how he found this house in Mannington WV while he was living in Florida was just crazy). He wanted us to go and look at at it and set it up to buy and then pay us to do the work and split the profit when it sold. We did that and he decided that it wasn’t going to be done in time to make a real return on his investment and gave it to us to take over.
So we got one mobile home done last year and most of our money went to playing catch up on the bills, getting some supplies for the next one and a dumpster for the house. Then came winter and we were at a stand still on both (or all 3 including the one we occupy) because of weather and no electric in two of them.
Well, meanwhile, I have been trying to bring in extra money to keep us going with this blog but if you are not working on anything it just ends up being a diary. Good morning, today I am trying to figure out how to keep my sanity while everything seems to make me want to lose it. See while to some it may be hey, honey I hear ya. The majority wants the: today I made this fabulous thing and I am going to show you how I did it for $2 so you can too.
So then we were racking our brains on what we were going to do with our lives when we did get everything done and sold and was actually living in the Victorian. How were we going to continue to support ourselves enough to at least get the bills paid and the house fixed up. I decided that I wanted to open a shop/boutique type store that sold nothing but handmade items and I was going to get help from my extremely talented relatives and name it after our grandmother. So Ma Barker’s Handmade Treasures was born.
I had to rack my brain about what I was going to bring to the table since one of my cousins that I want to be part of this store does handmade jewelry and sculptures. The other one is a fabulous photographer and all around artist. What was I going to do? I decided that I would start with soap. OK great now what? I researched it and started it (full steam ahead). I won’t bore you with all the ins and outs anymore I have already told you that in the few other blogs I have done on it.
So now that you are caught up, at least to my current situation I can go on and tell you. We have been going to a kiosk for awhile now in a mall in PA about 30 minutes from home. The house in Mannington is 45 minutes away in the opposite direction, the reason that is important is that this whole thing started to eventually evolve into a store there. This week we looked into it and we could get one there but I started thinking about a few things.
I love the idea of having a store but only when my other stuff is done (meaning the rehabs and I have moved) even then I don’t know if what I sell is going to be a thriving business in that community. I just finally got into a bigger kiosk and in a better location at the mall we are at. I love the other people that we now work with on the weekends. They are almost like an extended family and are constantly cheering us on to keep us going when we only make rent on a particular day. I don’t want tied down with the need to be in a store 5 or more days a week. I would eventually like to get organized enough that we are working on the rehabs so many days a week and the house so many days or maybe even trade off weekly. I am just getting to where I can see that in the very near future like even next week. So all that said, I made the decision that I am staying at the kiosk and maybe throwing in a couple of craft fairs in the mix. I will continue to advertise my stuff on Facebook and hope for the best. When we move we will see where we are in terms of sales at the mall and decide then whether we move or not.