Jay Sokoloff and Virginia Champoux run against conventional wisdom; they have four degrees between them and, rather than having comfortable office jobs, they sell ice cube molds and silly books, something they wouldn’t have any other way. What advice do they have for other young professionals? Find out in today’s YEDaily…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your business in a nutshell.
Mortimer Snodgrass is a funky gift store, located in Old Montreal and online. We sell unique and original knick-kacks that run the gamut, from hostess gifts to baby gifts, to things you simply must have but have no real purpose. We also stock very useful things, but they tend to have an original twist.
Why did you start your business, what was the inspiration?
Jay was just finishing his stage in a law firm after the Bar Exam and realised that his health (he has Cystic Fibrosis) would not permit him to have a full time career as a lawyer. I was switching away from communications in the airline industry and wanted to find something more creative to do. Having travelled a lot together, one of the things we enjoyed most was poking around little unusual shops all over the world. People always commented the cool stuff we picked up in these stores while travelling.
We decided to open one. Somehow, we ended up visiting what was then a tiny dollar store on Monkland Ave in Montreal, and next thing you knew, we had a one-year lease and were tracking down the suppliers of all the gadgets and knick-knacks in our house!
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
Hunting down new products is very interesting. When Jay stumbles upon something on an obscure website and contacts the people and they are excited to ship to Canada for the first time, that’s a big high. For me, lately, the social media aspect is lighting the fire in my belly. The biggest challenge, bar-none, is staffing. We work with a lot of part-timers, and it’s very hard to find the right people.
Where do you see your business going in 5 years?
At one point, we had several locations and we made a concious choice to bring it back to one very large store. We are happy with that. We have been going the online site for the last two years, and that is where we see our growth. We want our online sales to grow to where the online store is bigger than the physical store.
What does success look like to you?
For us, success is selling out of something totally orginial we found. It’s getting people to talk about how fun our store is, either in magazines or on blogs. When someone comes out of our store and has nice things to say, that’s success. Randomly meeting someone who asks what we do for a living and saying, ‘we own Mortimer Snodgrass’ and they say, ‘Oh, I love that store!’, that’s success.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
There have been lost of milestones along the way. Being featured in En Route magazine was a pretty big deal and brought the store unprecendented reach. And just last week, we heard we were awarded the Canadian Retailer of the Year award by the CGTA. In our field, that is pretty much the nicest thing you can hear.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Find your passion and don’t listen to conventional wisdom. Between the two of us, we have four degrees. Conventional wisdom says we should have nice office jobs somewhere. Instead, we sell ice cube molds and silly books. We love every minute of it.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
I have always supported the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, having lost my own mother to the disease. So in the past, the store has generally donated goods to my personal fundraising efforts. This year, we held an event in support of Cystic Fibrosis, in honor of Jay’s successful lung transplant. And for the second year, Jay is growing his mustache in support of Movember. The store participates on Twitter and Facebook to get the word out and to help him raise funds. We are a small store, but it’s important to give back.
What is Notable to you?
Notable to us is standing out in the crowd. Being original. Going one way when everyone is going the other (we are still happy we said no to Crocs!)
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
Android. both of us. Since the beginning.
How do you keep active, energetic, and vibrant?
We have two dogs and two kids! They keep us going from 5 am til 9 pm!
I am an avid knitter, it’s my Zen. And with his news lungs, Jay is full of energy and can be found walking the dogs several times a day all over the city!