Written By Craig Kaminer 

Leslie Magrew and Lydia Crespo squared off last spring as competitors when they entered RetailNEXT -- a Shark Tank-like competition to win free rent for a year, build-out of a store, ongoing mentoring by seasoned professionals and marketing support.  Now just six months after their businesses launched side-by-side at The Meadows in Lake St. Louis, both Magrew and Crespo are taking the market by storm, despite the current pandemic that has temporarily shuttered their brick and mortar locations known respectively as Generations Revival and The Cozy Shop.  

They started out strong during the holiday season, but quickly discovered that the slow period after January 1, followed by the stay-at-home order would require another new way of looking at their businesses.  As store sales and craft club attendance declined, online sales, virtual classes, and social media marketing picked up. “Today's retailers are so different from those of the past. You can’t just set up shop and wait for customers to appear.  For retailers the market is regional or national, not just local. You have to go out and find them wherever they are,” explains Magrew. During March and April, Leslie and Lydia became expert video bloggers, as they did classes online and broadened their audience beyond St. Louis and St. Charles.   

Additionally, their start-up stories have appealed to local and national media, both trade and consumer focused, and as a result they have been able to stay visible to their customers and prospects beyond the local market.  When they get publicity about their business, their sales go up. They quickly found out that when one door closes another one opens. 

Not only have they found how to make their business work in new ways, they also have jumped on board a bandwagon of makers making a difference. Leslie, a former ICU nurse at SSM, converted her store from Generations Revival to Generation “Survival” to accept collections of medical supplies.  Her creativity resulted in media outlets covering her story and collecting boxes full of supplies. Leslie has also launched “Revive My Porch,” a series of workshops full of information to transform an area of your home. Included is  a full DIY “Rethunk Junk” kit with everything you need to revive a door, cabinet, or piece of furniture. Virtual workshops show a full demonstration on how to use the Rethunk Junk products, tips and tricks to update your space, and goodie bags full of freebies and coupons from local businesses.  

Lydia shifted her focus to making a new line of tye-dyed sweatshirts which she sold out of in a day. And, she is also producing online videos showing people how to make protective masks. She is selling some to cover her own cost of operations and donating the rest.   

Both Leslie and Lydia are makers making a difference for their customers, for the community and for their families. And just like them, there are hundreds if not thousands of makers and entrepreneurs of all kinds who can keep us occupied, make us food, find a cure or lend a hand.  The least we can do is support their efforts, now more than ever. Sign up for a class, buy a gift or gift card which can be used at a later date and send it to someone you miss, make a donation and tell others about people like Leslie and Lydia.  

Anything you can do will be returned tenfold.  Just watch. 

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RetailNEXTSTL 2020 officially launched last month. Entries will be accepted through midnight on May 15th.  Deadlines and key dates are subject to change due to Covid-19. Contest details and entry forms are available on retailnextstl.com. Once an entry is received by RetailNEXTSTL, it will be reviewed by judges and mentors. If the idea is selected, the contestant will be assigned a mentor to finetune the concept, strengthen the business plan, and prepare for the live presentation which will take place this summer. The top five concepts will be voted on by the general public and the winner will be announced by late June. The winner’s retail location will open on, or before, November 1, 2020, at The Meadows.  

According to Meir Cohen, owner of The Meadows, “Despite mandatory store closures, there are thousands of people not working and planning what they will do when things get back to normal.  We hope that RetailNEXTSTL 2020 will be an opportunity for them to think about the better times to come and make their entrepreneurial dream come true at the same time.” 

Qualified contestants interested in pitching their concept should do the following: 

• Go to retailnextstl.com to learn more about RetailNEXT 

• Fill out entry forms 

• Start working on plan and presentation 

• Get ready for the “big pitch” in June