Check Out Tonya Trow’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonya Trow.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Several years ago, I was a stay at home mom with four kids. I didn’t have much money and I was tired of struggling financially. I started painting landscapes on furniture and mailboxes, fairytale canvases, and doing some amateur photography of things that touched my life. Including a photo driving down Bankhead Hwy. one night after a rainstorm. A lone car with headlights approached and passed one towering telephone line that stood out before the clouds. I started selling my work in two stores; one in Marietta and one in Smyrna. I worked hard to try to bring in some extra money. I remembered back to when I had to sell my prized stamp collection at a flea market just to pay the power bill before it was disconnected. I brought several things from home to try to sell at the flea markets just to make extra money for food, and more painting supplies. One day my youngest daughter suggested we rent a booth in an antique shop so we could just leave our wares in one location and have someone else sell them. I was so afraid to spend money on a gamble. The flea market was only $15 per day on a weekend, and that wasn’t risky because I always made the money back and then some. I was still apprehensive about committing to a shop owner for a monthly payment. One weekend at the flea market I saw a puppy crate a few booths away. I decided to walk down and see how much the vendor wanted for the crate. The crate looked brand new, so I thought he was going to say it was about $20. Amazingly, he sold it to me for $5! I was so excited. This is when the resale bug bit me. I paid for the crate and shot my daughter a big grin. In a few minutes I had resold the puppy crate for $15. This may seem so worthless to some people, but that moment changed my life!

I decided to take the risk of committing to the shop vendor my daughter had found, and together we rented a tiny booth for $30 per month. This was in 2013. $30 may not seem much, but if you don’t have $30, it can be unsettling. We sold a few things over the next three months and were able to easily pay our rent. December 2013 came around, and the shop owner informs us she was going to close the store. We were so disappointed. Nowhere could you find booth rent for $30 per month.

After a few talks with the owner, I was able to conquer several fears about what it would take to open an entire re-sale shop. She offered lots of advice and I took some and left some. When she told me her rent was $500 for the retail space, plus utilities, my mind reeled. The thought of owning my own shop and renting out booths to others seemed feasible. I was still terrified. My husband helped with my nerves, sharing he would provide a safety net for the first month and gifted us the first month rent. Now the pressure was on to sell $500 plus, in a month in order to continue. We continued to fill the store by going to yard sales and estate sale. It was a lot of fun! On our opening day we sold $1,100! I thought we hit the jackpot.

However, my true love was going to estate sales to find treasures to sell. I even began liquidating estates through the store so it would be well stocked with unique items. With our newly gained merchandising experience, we ventured out to liquidate estates for persons in their homes, and the homes of their deceased loved ones. This wasn’t only a fantastic learning experience as we grew and became educated in everything from antique furniture, to glassware, jewelry, and art, but it was immediately found to be a very spiritual undertaking. The families who needed our services, advisement, and prayers became a ministry to me. Going through the personal belongings of a life once lived by each and every home we worked in, I knew was not only a vocation, but a calling.

We have now been serving west Metro Atlanta and west Georgia now for 14 years. Sometimes its’s hard, and as we tackle some estates, we see things, and feel things that are hard to explain. We also, delve into hoarder situations, black mold, layers of dirt, dust, and wet boxes of household items. Other times we work in homes with innate cleanliness and meticulous order. Either way, we have a heart to share our attention, skills and commitment to do our best for our clients. We don’t accept every job that comes our way. We pray about it, and then see what God has for us and how we can best benefit our clients. We aren’t making millions, but we sustain and know there are many hurting people who we can help on the journey of transition.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not always been a smooth road. In 2020 during Co-vid, the local government mandated that we had to shut down our store for 6 weeks. We still had an estate sale! The craziest thing happened during the sale, with all the apprehensive people in masks, shopping six feet or more within each other, “BAM!” The train that runs through downtown Villa Rica derailed right out front, blocking the road! We carried on.

Other times, we find so much mold in a basement or or other part of the house, or a snake infestation, a rat flying out of a shed toward a customer, argumentative customers, and even shoplifting! We never know what we may find, or how our clients or customers will feel or behave throughout a sale. It’s like a journey into the unknown. My faith, and years in Christian ministry and training as a pastor have been indispensable. I just don’t let things get to me. My assistants may sometimes feel overwhelmed, and I may not like what I have to deal with, but a “just do it and get it done” attitude paves the way to a successful outcome.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
After years of trying to find a way to generate an income from home, (this was before all the remote job options), I took the skills I had and began painting at home. I went around from shop to shop trying to find someone who did consignment. That’s when I found the shop in Smyrna, and the one in Marietta, called “Just For You”. I painted fairytale and angel pictures on canvases for the store in Smyrna, and everything from custom dog portraits on wood calendars, to mailboxes with cabin scenes. This was very satisfying for awhile. I think I was most proud of an old army trunk I had painted a sailing ship on. I was never trained, but watched Bob Ross a few times. Mostly I just painted what I liked, which seemed to be landscapes.

I also was trained as a pastor for three years in my previous church, and worked as a children’s pastor and adult spiritual gifts classes. I wrote a spiritual gifts book for my church and had it for sale on Amazon. Later I went to ministry school at Georgia School of Ministry and was credentialed as a reverend in the Assemblies of God. I served again as a children’s pastor at my present church for 3 years and taught years of classes and small groups from the books I had written. Eventually I combined four Spiritual Journey books into the one completed edition entitled “Spiritual Gifts, A Transformation Manual”. So I believe my background, faith and empathy set me apart in Haven Estate Sales. With the layers of growth in these areas, you will find, a person who cares deeply for you and your situation and who will do their best to help complete the tasks needed to liquidate an estate, with less stress, less anxiety and less questions of how to do it.

The artist side of me also has been a blessing from decorating store windows and displays, to staging homes for estate sales.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I was most mentored by people who didn’t know they were teaching me. It helps to be intuitive, a good listener, and to be open to other people’s way of doing things. After frequenting estate sales for years, I pulled much inspiration, I’m a control freak, but one thing I learned in ministry was to allow those who want to grow, opportunities to share their ideas, and to solidify them. It was hard at first to let go, but very enjoyable to see what others come up with. Most of the time I’d use their ideas to organize, display, purchase stock, and brand our shop. This makes for a happy crew, a sense of ownership for your workers, and opens a flow of creativity in everyone.

To all of you, from estate sale companies, to the lady from Boston who taught me about branding my store, and every other mentor I have had the pleasure of learning from; THANK YOU!

It’s important to search out, experience, read articles, see what your competitors are doing and expound upon that!

Pricing:

• We charge 40% of the gross sales.
• We also charge an advertising fee of $150.
• You pay no money up front. It all comes off the end of the sale total.

Contact Info:

• Website: http:\\www.havenestatesales.net
• Facebook: facebook@havenestatesales