Big Sky Resale Thrift Store and Consignment in Helena hosted its grand opening, but not without challenges to overcome due to the pandemic.
"Well, before the pandemic, we were going to do this already. Then, this whole thing happened and it really mixed it all up," says Aaron McCarter, the owner of Big Sky Resale.
Aaron McCarter completed his dream of being an entrepreneur and opening up a consignment store, doing so on his 35th birthday. However, he and his wife Mia had challenges. The original plan was to open the store before the pandemic began in Montana early in 2020. The deciding factor to open now, in July 2020, was a go-all-in-or-go-home attitude.
"We decided after we hit Phase 2, if we are going to do it, we are going to do it. Let's just jump all the way into it and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. At least we said we tried," says McCarter.
They did do it. Aaron and Mia reached out to the Helena community via social media for donations to the store and received a big response.
"The Helena community has been amazing,” says McCarter. “That's one of the reasons why I love this place so much, they've been so good to us. As soon as we started taking donations, they were there and they answered the call, and we got a really great response."
The owners say they are grateful for the response as it made the process for them opening smoother, a difficult task as a pandemic looms over their business.
"I have all my savings into this, me and my wife do. We could close down, but like I always tell my kids, 'if you don't try for what you want, then what are you doing,'" says McCarter.
Big Sky Resale says they will donate 10% of their monthly profits to a local charity or nonprofit.
Big Sky Resale is located at 2808 Billings Avenue in Helena. They are behind Walmart.
