C.L. McManus

“The tears the laughs the lessons learned
The products bought and then returned
The skin that was thin
Is now like buckskin
A degree in resilience well-earned”
― C.L. McManus, Adventures in Small Business: The surprising humor and realities in owning and running a small retail store.

“My expectations were pretty conventional regarding opening, operating, and ultimately closing my small store. I certainly didn't expect much emotion, nor did I expect that the faces, voices and stories would stay with me a lifetime, but they will. In reality, I ran the scale of emotions. Every significant interaction changed me. Though you can say that about most anything in life, these moments combined were, for me, truly "life-changing." My lifetime of annoyingly repetitive prayers was for exactly what I was to receive by operating that little store. I had an about-face with confidence, and although my patience will probably never be perfect, it went from a two to maybe a seven?”
― C.L. McManus, Adventures in Small Business: The surprising humor and realities in owning and running a small retail store.