Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes.
We are now in the giving season. It’s the time of year when we give local businesses money in exchange for gifts that we then give to someone else… or we enjoy ourselves.
Sasha Malchi, my guest on this episode, has been in the retail business for nearly a decade. She like every other small business owner in Tulsa needs you to shop local this month more than ever before. Not only does your purchases support them, but it supports their employees, and it supports our city’s efforts to do everything because we rely heavily on sales tax in this city and state.
If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you’ve heard Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, Mayor G.T. Bynum, Visit Tulsa’s Ray Hoyt, Magic City Book’s Jeff Martin, Buck Atom’s Mary Beth Babcock and more talk about the importance of spending money in our community. You can add Sasha to the list.
In this conversation Sasha discusses how challenging this year has been to run a small business retail operation during a pandemic. Her business Shoppe Sasha is located in Brookside to the north of Pei Wei and just to the east of Ribbons at 35th and South Peoria.
As you’ll hear, running a small business wasn’t easy when the world is normal and it’s only become way more challenging in 2020, but Sasha still loves what she does.
She takes us behind the scenes and shares insights into how they manage inventory and plan for the holiday months as soon as the holidays end. She talks about her philosophy on how small businesses should work as a community, but still be independent by being unique in what they carry.
Sasha has been in Brookside long enough she’s witnessed lots of changes, including her own business location. Her store used to be located in the area where Trader Joe’s now exists. She talks about how the district has evolved and what she hopes to see in the future.
In our December issue and at TulsaPeople.com we feature Sasha and some of the home interiors, as well as items for the kitchen, entertaining, jewelry, baby and giftables she has for sale in her shop.
This is an important conversation that many Tulsans can relate to. If you know a small business owner, reach out and check on them and more importantly spend money at their store or restaurant.
If you haven’t subscribed to this podcast, please do. We are already making plans for our 2021 winter and spring lineup. Let us know on our social media channels if there’s someone you’d like to hear from next year.
