We were lucky to catch up with Amelia Houde recently and have shared our conversation below.
Amelia , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I was brought up with positive and hard working role models. My Dad went back to school when I was a child while managing a full time demanding job and a family. I saw his dedication and work ethic to better himself for our family. While my brother and I were doing homework, so wasn’t my Dad. Both of my grandfathers were extremely hard workers and so isn’t my Mom. My Mom always worked part-time jobs while managing to get my brother and I to every practice, game, or event. She always made it work all while whipping up a batch of brownies for the team. It was instilled in me as a child, if you sign up for it, you finish it and try your best while doing it. You couldn’t just quit a sport if you didn’t like it, you had to finish the season. My brother and I were held accountable to do our homework, study, and do well in school. We played sports each season and worked in the summers. (My favorite job ever was scooping ice cream at Nana’s Ice Cream which is right down the street from my store now!) We were raised to have morals and structure and with that foundation we both have become successful in our careers. I’m also very competitive so that certainly drives a lot of my work ethic as well. Actually my whole family is pretty competitive when it comes to board games ha!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Well, my name is Amelia Houde. I opened a gift shop in my hometown called Tide and True in June 2024. I was in a marketing role for 8 1/2 years and wanted to work for myself. I always loved going into gift shops and local coffee shops when I traveled and support local artists and vendors. I also love gift giving and finding unique gifts someone will love and that you definitely won’t find at a retail chain store and my little seaside village didn’t have that. We have a great walkable downtown just seconds from the beach with restaurants, a post office, laundry mat, pizza place, ice cream etc. but only 1 retail shop. That’s unheard of in a beach community that draws a sizable summer crowd. I knew we needed more but none of the vacant spaces were affordable and the right size so I patiently waited and kept an eye on the buildings for rent signs.
The stars started to align in December 2023. I was chatting with a local artist Trevor Watson, and we started talking about an old building that went up for sale and to my surprise he mentioned he was buying it. He also mentioned he would be looking for someone to rent one of the units. In that moment I got chills and just blurted out, “ME! I want it”. I went home practically dancing telling my husband it’s happening! I’m going to open my own store. After months of renovations, back and forth with the town, securing financing, and sourcing inventory (all while raising two tiny humans, Jude, 2.5 and Hunter 1 at the time)I was able to open the doors to Tide and True on June 15, 2024.
Now my store carries over 55 local artists and vendors work mixed in with products that I source from local sales reps and wholesale accounts to build a unique offering of gifts, local art, jewelry, home decor and more.
I try to have at least 2 events per month at the store. Whether that’s a pop-up with one of my vendors or a fundraiser for a deserving organization. It gets people in the door and we have fun doing it! I love being the store everyone comes to for fun and where they can always find a good gift or treat for themselves. I have a new sweatshirt design launching later in spring / early summer – “Tide and True Social Club”. I’m so excited to launch it especially for the local ladies I have come to know and chit chat with. It’s not just a store, it’s a feeling of community and friendship and that rings true to Onset too. We’re a blended community of ages, ethnicities and backgrounds and we all come together and really support one another. The feedback and support from this community and the surrounding communities has been phenomenal and just so appreciated. It makes my little entrepreneur heart so full. I plan to make Tide and True a staple in the Onset community for many years to come.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My marketing experience and skills played a huge role in creating the logo, brand image, and promoting the business and creating excitement for the store. Social media and the local” Wareham Week” newspaper has been my go to advertising avenues and people really do respond to them. (Advice: Post on social media a minimum of 3 times a week. There are so many times I look a business up on Instagram or Facebook (millennial here) and if they haven’t posted in months (even years!) I don’t bother driving over. I assume they aren’t open anymore. Post announcements, new inventory, events, specials and especially your hours or any changes to your operation. Also speaking of hours, have them posted on your door, on your website and social media profiles and stick to them! If you aren’t open when you say you’re going to be, the customer is frustrated and less likely to come back. If you have to close, post it! People understand things happen but you can’t just leave them hanging staring at a door that’s locked that should be open.)
I’m also very creative and have a pretty good eye for design. I have been complimented time and time again for the layout and style of Tide and True and it means so much because I’ve never worked retail in my life! This is all new to me so there has been a lot of learning and figuring it out as I go. I have a lot of fun rearranging the store.
I have a “I can do it myself” attitude which has its pros and cons. I typically try to take on EVERYTHING and that’s just not possible sometimes. One thing I will say on that is know when to hire an expert! I handle everything here (literally everything, I am the owner and only employee haha!) and I can handle quite a bit but I am not a bookkeeper and had no time to learn it or do it so I outsourced. It is a huge burden off of my plate. So as much as I am a “I can do it myself” type of person, it’s good to know when to delegate and let it go.
What I have also learned through my journey is you can’t take every person who comes through the doors suggestions/requests! I have a lot of custom signs and a few sweaters/sweatshirts with town and beach names and I have people coming in requesting X and I just can’t do it all. It’s very costly to order custom designs especially apparel and as the decision maker for the store I have to be thoughtful of what I bring in. Just because this person says “I would buy 10” doesn’t mean anyone else is coming in to buy the reminding 20+ I had to order to meet the minimum custom order. You want to be helpful and pull it off for them but you can’t do it all and do it all well so you have to be able to say no and set boundaries.
I consider myself a good decision maker but managing inventory is tricky and something I think I will always struggle with a little bit. You THINK something will sell right away and it sits and then another item you don’t personally LOVE so you order 6 and then they sell in a few days. Then you order more and then those sit for months. lol retail is funny! I’m learning though!
So I guess to wrap this rant up, marketing skills and experience, creativity and vision, and decision making and setting boundaries is what helped me/shaped me and my store.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love working with local artists and creatives. I currently have over 55 local artists and brands in my store. I’m not always accepting new vendors however I am always open to checking them out and seeing if it would be a good fit for the store when I am accepting new ones. I have a seaside beach feel to my store and like to find unique items you wouldn’t find at retail chains. I do prefer vendors from New England as we are based in Massachusetts but I do support small businesses all over the US. I prefer email for vendor inquires, [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: www,tideandtrueonset.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tideandtrue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tideandtrueonset
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
