Hershey Caramel Kisses. We started trading in May 2008, one day a week at Nuneaton’s Open Air Market in Warwickshire. On our very first day trading we only had around a dozen different products, the market became a great success and we soon looked to expand. We moved into Coventry Indoor Market in July 2008 and started trading 6 days a week. We felt the move to Coventry Market was a step towards our dream of owning our own American Store. We stopped trading on Nuneaton Market in December 2008 due to health reasons.
Michelle had been suffering for years with various problems and in January 2009 had to have a total Hysterectomy at the age of 36. However after only 6 weeks off work she bounced back ready to plough all her energy into growing our store in Coventry Market but not forgetting the times we spent on Nuneaton market.
We re-launched our business on 4th of July 2009 under the name of 4thofjuly.co.uk with what was to also mark the launch of our website and Independence day seemed like a great day to launch it. We arranged an American themed Independence Day Party in Coventry Indoor Market. We had cheerleaders, American Footballers, American Basket Ball Players, Ice Hockey Players and a lot of the other traders also got involved with fancy dress. Lisa dress up as Wonder Woman and Michelle as Aunty Sam and we were honoured to have the Lord Mayor of Coventry officially open our newly re-named store. We even had an Ompha Lumpa from Willy Wonka there to help share our special day. Our success in Coventry Market was picked up by a local Author Pete Chambers and we were lucky enough to be featured in a book "Coventry Market in a Roundabout Way". The business was going from strength to strength and in October 2009 we were lucky enough to win a Godiva Award for "Best New Venture” At last someone else believed in us.
This is where the what happens to one happens to the other kicks in big time....
In November 2009 Lisa had to have a Major operation due to an unknown under lying problem triggered off by a car crash. She has had a Spinal Fusion and still has on going problems. Now both of us had major surgery in 2009.
It has been said with the business that Michelle tends to be front of house and Lisa back or behind the scenes holding everything up. Well Michelle had front surgery at the begining of the year and Lisa had back surgery and the back end of the year...
What happens to one happens to the other, born on the same day syndrome, (if there is such a syndrome) silly little things happen like both having car crashes, cars breaking down on the same road with the same faults only weeks apart to household items breaking down. We would laugh and ring each other and say, "By the way my washer has broken" and sure enough the others item would play up. Things happen right down to both our husbands losing there jobs weeks apart. Michelle lives at house number 12 and Lisa lives at house number 6, we are half of each other. Good or bad.
After almost 2 years trading out of Coventry Market, a chance of moving into a shop came along. In March 2010 we moved from Coventry Market into our new location, 18 Market Way, Coventry, CV1 1DL. We shared the shop with Coventry Blaze but are always working towards our next step of a shop of our own. This move was a good thing for us as we were able to offer a wider range of products and we still continue to expand every month as we receive more and more requests from you guys. We have taken baby steps along the way and have grown the business like it was our baby. The next step will be a big one and with our belief that anything is possible we will do it.
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