Cathy Boytos

Listen To Your Inner Voice

Faced with the financial challenges of raising her three-year old daughter, Kristen, on her own, Cathy Boytos struggled with finding ways to provide a good and balanced life for the two of them.

After a 20- year career in HR with a large bank, she knew that she did not want to return to the corporate world: the hours (and the commute!) were long, the job was stressful, and there would be little time and energy left for her daughter.

Self-employment seemed like a good option, but she wasn’t sure where to start. She comments “I had never run a business but I always had a job. I’m not a big risk-taker, and I had serious conflict between self-doubt and self-confidence. And starting over was hell.”

But Cathy had an idea running around in her head, and it wouldn’t go away. After her divorce, she had to furnish her new home on a tight budget, and she scouted second-hand and antique stores without luck. She turned to purchasing used furniture and appliances from classified ads in the local newspaper, and was amazed by the quality of unwanted second hand furniture gathering dust in homes. And the idea for Trading Places started to crystallize in her mind.

She was told by friends and family that she couldn’t do it and her ex-husband suggested that she should just get a job with benefits. At the same time, her daughter was diagnosed with a learning disability that required getting Kristen help. Money was an issue and of course money to start the business was an ever bigger issue, and so she had to borrow what little equity she had against her home. To say she was frightened was an under-statement – she was really worried that she might lose it all and not be able to support Kristen. But Cathy had a dream, and without telling most of those around her, she went after it with determination.

In 2003, Cathy met a fellow who happened to be listening to her as she told him about her idea. “He told me to go for it and in fact it was him who told me about some space he thought I could get for next to nothing (well, I got the space but it certainly wasn’t for next to nothing!!).” she shares.

He spent countless hours helping her to get started “It was like an angel that fell from heaven and into my life at that point in time. He supported me 1000% and spent countless hours of his own time helping me to get started.” adds Cathy. So, in June 2003, Trading Places opened in a 2000 square foot industrial warehouse, taking in used furniture on consignment.

Cathy wanted to make it easy for people to find affordable second-hand furniture. “With the number of empty-nesters downsizing to smaller homes, I knew I had a market.”

She sent out 1200 letters to local realtors and advertised in community newspapers. For several days, she sat in her showroom, marveling at the beautiful furnishings and accessories surrounding her, and waited in vain for a customer to appear. She was beginning to question herself again.

Many weeks later, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the showroom was transformed – the place was brimming full of people as they lined up at the door waiting to discover what bargains might be found. Cathy sums up her personal satisfaction of that day in saying “Somebody actually bought something – they valued my opinion.”

When asked if it felt good to prove her doubters wrong, she replied, “No. It felt good to prove myself right. I feel good about what I do – these were my ideas and I implemented them. And I did it by myself.”

Today, Trading Places is located in a busy plaza, in an n upscale 4,000 square ft showroom, and Cathy has six employees. News of the store has spread through word-of-mouth and most pieces are in and out within two weeks. It is not unusual to see a full-size moving van delivering the contents of a 5000 square foot home to the showroom.

Cathy is still fine tuning the concept. “I’ve learned that you need to trust your gut feeling. When something keeps nagging at you, it’s time to listen to that inner voice. Next time, I wouldn’t have waited so long and paid less attention to the nay-sayers.”

She has just started paying herself as up until now she’s been putting all her resources into building the business and hiring the help that she needs to make it work. She has gained the flexibility that she needs to care for Kristen, and has plans for the future. Already she is making plans to open more locations either through franchising or otherwise throughout Canada.

Cathy Boytos truly stepped out of her comfort zone. Based on her own experiences, she saw a need and went about trying to address it. She faced self-doubt and uncertainty head-on, took risks, sucked up her fear, and took the first steps to make her dream come true.