Most of us don't want to believe that life goes on after graduation and degrees. We would be happy to stay here in Blacksburg forever, working and playing in our cushy comfort zone of college. However, there is a time when all of us will have to graduate, get jobs and move into the fabled "real world." The best we can hope for is to be prepared, happy, and one day, successful. One example of such a success is the business Vintage Swank, owned and operated by two Tech graduates.
When Amy and Mitch Hazam, both 29, began dating at Virginia Tech, chances are they had no idea that in under a decade they would both be proprietors of one of the most successful businesses in Front Royal, Virginia.
Although they both graduated with different degrees and ambitions, their shared interest and innovative spirits would soon inspire them to start their own company.
Mitch graduated in 1998 with a degree in studio art, focusing on graphic design, and moved to Northern Virginia to work for a web design company. Amy graduated a year later with degrees in communication and art history. She also moved to Northern Virginia and worked as a photojournalist, and they were married in 2001.
When Amy decided she was in need of a career change and Mitch's company suffered ?dot-com fallout," they both found themselves unemployed at the same time.
In a risky decision, they decided to follow their instincts, and in October of 2003 launched their website, www.vintageswank.com The couple shared a passion
for vintage clothing, furniture and accessories dating all the way back to when they first met in Blacksburg, and both had 1950s vintage furniture in their apartments.
Over the years they had amassed quite a collection of such vintage merchandise and opened the website initially as a way to liquidate their collection and make some money.
Mitch used his web design skills to manage the website, and just like that the couple started their own business.
The website was an immediate success, and Amy Hazam quickly realized that working from home in a business she was passionate about and interested in was "more fun and profitable than(their) chosen career paths."
Although the two had no background in business at Virginia Tech, the success of the website soon grew to such an extent that the couple began talking to other antique dealers
and learning as much as they could about how to manage a business.
One year later, in October 2004, the couple used the money they had been making from the website to open the Vintage Swank showroom in the downtown area of Front Royal, Virginia.
Starting their business from a website gave them enough start-up capital that they did not need to take out any loans for the 4,000 square-foot building, about the size and shape of the Lyric Theatre. The decision was made "after the business started taking over our house," Amy said. "We tried doing traveling shows, but we couldn't bring enough material, and the buyer would always want the one piece we didn't bring."
Now, the couple both manage the store nearly full time, with Mitch recently returning to work, "although the store is sufficient income" to be their sole source of profit, Amy Hazam said.
Their showroom has over 15,000 items, ranging from clothing to furniture to kitchen appliances, most from the 1920s?70s. They do lots of local business, but their website continues to thrive and offer them many great opportunities.
The website is colorful and upbeat and offers any information antique buyers could want about the Hazam's company and products.
They even have a section titled "Road Trip" that offers a page full of ideas about places to stay and things to do when you visit Front Royal, and their store.
Today, they have sold items to four different continents, 20 countries, and 47 states in the U.S. "We still can't get Rhode Island to buy any of our stuff" Mitch joked. "Or Alaska. Soon though."
They?ve even had Tech student and staff online customers. Recently, Vintage Swank was even voted the ?Best Vintage and Resale in Washington D.C.? in 2006 by CBS affiliate WUSA 9.
The most important advice the couple could give to Tech graduates preparing for a future is to follow their instincts and passions. Whatever you want in the future, "go for it, do it while you're young. Don't wait to do what you want to do, if you can find something you like to do and do it for your life, that?s the way to go,? Amy said. "Don't be scared, your degree doesn't limit you, you never know what your career could be."
So much of what you learn in college happens outside of the classroom. The clubs you join, people you meet and extracurriculars you choose have just as large an impact on your future as what you study. Nobody knows that better than the Hazams.