Dream Without Limits

Two Maclay Faculty Members Share Their Journey in Running a Clothing Business

Photo by Leah Song/Maclay Andalusian

Starting a business is a dream for many, but only a few pursue it. Two Maclay faculty members–Dean of Upper School Student Affairs Heather Bas and Upper School Administrative Assistant Nella Dickens–are some of the few to chase their passion outside of their full-time jobs. To help expand shopping opportunities for the plus-size community in town, Bas and Dickens opened Plus Size Consignment Tallahassee, shortened as PSC Tally, in May 2023.

“I enjoy it very much,” Dickens said. “I’ve owned other businesses, so this has been fun because it has been the dream of mine to see this particular business.”

PSC Tally is a semi-annual pop-up consignment store that retails male and female plus-size clothes. To avoid the cost involved in a long-term facility, PSC Tally uses a commercial site for one week, twice a year, with the help of student volunteers from Maclay. Instead of purchasing new items, PSC Tally allows retailers to bring items of acceptable quality and return them 60% of the profit from sale. If the items do not get sold by the end of the sales period, retailers can either pick their items up or donate to The Living Harvest, a local non-profit organization. With fitting rooms on site, the store provides an enhanced shopping experience for plus-size customers who typically purchase items online. The next winter consignment sale will be held from Dec. 6 to 8, and the last day will offer a 50% discount.

“We obviously would love to make a lot of money—that would be great,” Bas said. “But, right now, it’s just the experience of meeting the shoppers, working with the consignors and those people just having a really great experience at our sale.”

PSC Tally started as a small idea in December 2022 when Bas and Dickens were casually discussing their life journey. Dickens had a variety of professional experiences, including running businesses, and she hoped to start one specifically for the plus-size community, which is underserved in the retail market. Bas, with expertise in communication and management, had similar passion, so the two started brainstorming a sustainable business model they can continue as a part-time commitment. A lot of Bas and Dickens’ ideas came from other pop-up consignment businesses and both of their experiences in children clothing and accessories at The One Week Boutique in Tallahassee.

“We had faith that we could, even without a really well-mapped-out business plan, could handle all the aspects of it [the business],” Bas said. “And we have grown with each sale, so we are doing things right to a certain extent.”

Despite their expertise, Bas and Dickens have had to navigate themselves through many challenges, particularly the advertisement. Upon realizing that traditional advertisement strategies—such as radio, television and newspaper—are not as effective anymore, Bas and Dickens have focused on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram that boost their posts to reach targeted audiences. Besides advertisement, however, Bas and Dickens received huge support from their network. All three of PSC Tally’s previous sales were held at Maclay School with no cost, and the next sale will be at a rental site offered for free by Bas’ former student. Additionally, several students at Maclay volunteer in each sale to help organize the space while earning service hours.

“We have been very blessed in our journey,” Bas said. “We have someone who sponsors the website for us, and we now just pay for the website to be updated. It’s a blessing. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

However, stress and occasional fear are common for all business owners. Setting up a store requires a lot of physical labor, and the absence of customers at certain days or hours can lead to doubt. That said, Bas and Dickens continuously learn, producing better results after each sale, and stay focused on the experience itself rather than monetary profit. Furthermore, keeping the business part-time helps reduce anxiety, and the achievement after each sale delivers a great sense of reward.

“I’m always concerned about how it will be executed to where we have zero to few problems because that’s what I always work to avoid,” Bas said. “When the sale is over, though, it’s a big relief.”

Bas and Dickens’ long-term goal is to franchise the business. They hope to expand the brand across other cities and establish a business system that functions on its own.

“I’d highly recommend doing it [business],” Dickens said. “Don’t let fear hold you back. Don’t let the fear of ‘I don’t have enough money’ [hold you back]. If you wait and have enough money to do anything in life, you’ll never do it. You just have to start, and you’ll figure it out as you go.”