We recently connected with Tanya Mahrous and have shared our conversation below.
Tanya, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Life has a way of changing in an instant when you least expect it. Of all the decisions we make every day, many which have no long-term impact, who knew that one simple decision on an unassuming day could change the course of my life forever.
I have been an animal lover my whole life. It’s a big part of who I am. As a shy and insecure child, animals help me get through tough days with their unconditional love. I could be myself with dogs. As an adult, I longed for a career that helped animals, but I didn’t know how to make that happen.
I lived my early adult life accomplishing things I thought were expected of me, like going to college and getting a good job with benefits and stability. Risk taking was never on my radar. After working 10 years in the corporate world in an industry I loved, I found my health and mental well-being were at risk.
I realized I was not feeling fulfilled and found myself thinking about the regrets I’d have if I stayed in jobs that didn’t give me purpose. I wanted to follow my heart and find something to fulfill me as I entered the second half of my life and career. I didn’t know what this meant at the time – I just knew I needed a change.
When the opportunity arose, I took a package and left the corporate world, with the support of my wonderful husband, Toby Tobias. It was scary and risky, but I felt a calming sense of relief. I struggled during the next year, trying to figure what my new adventure would be. I really wanted to help animals and run my own company, but I didn’t know how. Many of the standard careers with animals were not a good fit for me. I even started looking at corporate jobs again, but this gave me even more anxiety.
During those 10 years, Toby and I had been volunteering with animal rescue and this is where my heart felt most fulfilled. It all started in 2000 when I saw an ad during the holidays asking for foster homes for animals. While we both loved dogs, we traveled quite a bit and bringing home a dog didn’t seem like the right time. But fostering…that seemed like the perfect option.
Our second foster dog was Lucky, a gorgeous Dalmatian. We had no intentions of adopting, but we quickly realized he wasn’t going anywhere. He became a “foster fail.”
Lucky had been days away from being euthanized simply because he was a 6-year-old male who was reactive to other dogs. He had been returned twice to the rescue and they had given up on him. Lucky was a handful and needed a lot of training, but his unconditional love changed our lives. To think an amazing dog like Lucky was about to lose his life was heartbreaking. His adoption was one of the first decisions which led me toward wanting a life of helping animals.
Finding my purpose was the result of a few key realizations in my life. First, I started volunteering for animal rescues and realized how fulfilled I felt while helping animals find their happily-ever-after. My heart was (and is) with the underdogs….the seniors, those with special needs or who are overlooked for whatever reason. I wanted to show them all a great life.
During my career in the corporate world, I found myself longing to do something that would feed my passion. I needed my job to be more than a job…I needed to feel like I was making a difference. This was the 2nd key realization. Lastly, I found myself thinking about being 80 years old and regretting staying in jobs in which I wasn’t happy, simply because they were comfortable and/or secure. I didn’t want that to be my reality.
Life is a journey and it doesn’t follow a straight line. Every decision and choice has the potential to affect the future. Finding out what I didn’t want to do was just as important as figuring out what would make me happy. For me, this meant turning my love of rescue animals into a career driven by my passion.
I don’t regret the experiences I went through before the Second Life journey, as every corporate job provided me with the confidence and skills to offset my only retail experience (as a cashier at a drug store while in high school).
For the first half of my career, I followed the “rules” and did what I thought was expected of me. It wasn’t fulfilling and it was affecting my health. I knew there was more to life, and I wanted to live it. I’m not sure where the new-found confidence came from, but once I decided I was going to open Second Life, there was no turning back. My life had a purpose and it was to help animals.
Some people know early what their purpose is, and they are lucky. For others like me, it took a while to figure out what I didn’t want to do…to finally find my purpose. Once I did, my life changed forever and I am grateful.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the co-founder (along with Toby) of Second Life, an upscale thrift store in the Atlanta area. Second Life was inspired by our Dalmatian Lucky and our desire to help other animals find their forever homes. I’m one of those people who wants to save every animal and my heart breaks knowing so many amazing dogs and cats are failed by humans and will lose their lives. I had left the corporate world without a plan and was floundering for about a year. Little did I know that one day, serendipity would pay a visit and our whole lives would change and help me find my purpose. While visiting my hometown of Lincoln, NE, my mom saw a small ad in a local publication about a resale store that benefited animal rescue. We decided to check it out, because…well, it helped animals and we both loved thrifting! Although we visited with the goal of shopping and supporting animals, it set off a chain of events that led me and Toby to opening Second Life. The light bulb in my head started to shine bright, as I dreamed about the possibility of starting a store in Atlanta. My heart began to feel hope and excitement for the first time in years. My purpose was found that day, in a store that helped animals, even if I didn’t know it at the time.
I had been an avid thrifter and loved animals, but I had never considered combining these two ideas together…until that serendipitous June day. I took the founder’s business card and sat on it for a couple months. A few months later, I shadowed her at the store to get a better understanding of what our new adventure might entrail. I then spent over six months creating a business plan and figuring out what the steps were to open a similar store in Atlanta. I vividly remember the founder telling me two things: (1) once people found out we helped animals, the donations and support would roll in and (2) running a store like this would be more work than I’ve ever done. Looking back, she was right on both accounts.
I was not deterred. I had found my calling. While I knew there were no guarantees it would succeed, I knew I’d regret it more for not trying, than if I tried and failed. I didn’t want to look back at my life and regret playing it safe. The rest is history, Second Life has been open for almost 13 years and has transformed into an upscale thrift store that is a “favorite” store for many of our customers. We have an amazing team and wonderful supporters that make our store a special place to be. I still remember Toby and me sitting in the middle of the 5,000 square foot store space right after we signed the lease and thinking…”what have we just done?” It was overwhelming, terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Although I joke it is my “crazy” idea for the store, Toby supported me along the way and helped any way he could. He joined our team early on as our Director of Operations and together, with our team and supporters, we have created Second Life as it is today. I’m grateful we took the leap. Since opening in 2011, Second Life has donated over $2.4 million to more than 80 animal rescues, including spay/neuter programs and outreach organizations. The animal rescue world is filled with amazing volunteers and employees who need and deserve all the support they can get. It is as heartbreaking as it is rewarding. Our store is unique because we don’t benefit just one organization – we are able to help many groups saving the lives of precious animals. Lucky joined me every day at the store for the first year as our Chief Smile Officer. I like to joke he kept us in business, as the store was quite empty at the time. He was a gorgeous 16-year- old dog who would stare out the window. People would stop by to say hi to him; then feel sorry for us and tell their friends and family to shop and donate. I guess Lucky was also our first Chief Sales Officer, and I’m thankful he was around to be a part of Second Life history. We still have customers mention Lucky and his legacy definitely lives on in all we do. He is the face of our logo and the inspiration for helping homeless pets. He is the one who makes me want to do more and more every day to make a difference. Not bad for a dog who was days away from losing his life. I guess Lucky also found his purpose and his legacy and spirit live on.
Our store is a special place, thanks to our amazing team members, and our customers often tell us “Second Life is their favorite place to shop or “I only donate to you.” I never get tired of hearing these sentiments. The store is bright and welcoming with whimsical animal paintings on our back wall. Our merchandise is carefully selected and organized. When you walk in, there is no typical “thrift store smell” and it doesn’t feel like a thrift store. We sell everything from antique to vintage, kitschy to traditional, including many high-end designers and brand-new items. I am always amazed at the quality of donations we receive. We will celebrate our 13-year anniversary in January 2024. The store has grown significantly, and it has been a labor of love running Second Life. I get to combine my passion and be around other animal-loving people. We would love to expand to other locations and increase revenues, so we can continue to donate to the many deserving animal charities. My hope is Second Life becomes a long-term venture so we can continue doing what we love. Toby and I still wonder what our lives would look like today if we hadn’t adopted Lucky and I hadn’t walked into the store in my hometown to shop. We are thankful we will never have to wonder. We finally found our purpose and won’t have to regret looking back at our lives and not following our dreams.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
There is no magic formula to our success, but believing in your idea is a priority.
First, I think it’s important to know what you want to accomplish and create a plan. Once I decided to start this journey, I spent 6-8 months researching the industry and writing a business plan. I think this was one of our keys to success, as I had reasonable expectations of operations, sales/revenues and our target market, instead of figuring it out on the fly.
Second, my degrees in Business Administration and the corporate-world experience provided a foundation which gave me the skills (and courage) to take this leap. Even though I didn’t enjoy most of the business classes (except Marketing classes), learning about other areas helped me understand a big-picture view of running a company.
Lastly, I believe my passion and knowledge of the animal rescue world has been critical to our success. Our supporters ask questions about spay/neuter and adopting a rescue animal and I am able to direct them to resources to help. This knowledge has offered credibility to our mission.
My advice to those starting their journey is to create a business plan that is part realistic expectations and part dream. A roadmap of your journey will help in the long-run. Learn as much as you can about the industry before you jump in. Figure out what makes your business special and how you will differentiate yourself from others. Create a support group that believes in your dream. If you aren’t enthusiastic about your business, is it worth it? Running the store is more work than I’ve ever done, but the rewards are worth it all. I found happiness taking a different path and I’m thankful every day that I did.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed in the short-term, I will try to take a day off and relax. It’s not always easy, and sometimes translates into only a few hours off. This means hiking with our dogs, working on a puzzle or watching cheesy movies on TV. Anything that can slow down my mind and help me relax. Sometimes, it’s necessary to schedule time-off on the calendar so it doesn’t get pushed to “tomorrow.” When the stress builds over months, it’s time to do more and we try to plan a trip. Traveling is how we reenergize our minds and bodies. Routine bores me, so travel is the perfect anecdote. The thrill of the unknown does wonders for my mind. Work-life balance is always a challenge, and more-so when you can work any hours of the day. Some days and weeks may be overly hectic, so once you get through these, it’s important to force yourself to take time and relax and enjoy life. There is no magic cure, but the important thing is figuring out what relaxes you and make time to enjoy it. You can’t run a business without taking care of yourself too.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.secondlifeatlanta.org
- Instagram: @secondlifeatl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/secondlifeatlanta
Image Credits
None. All photos are by me or a Second Life team member